Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC

Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,714 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,147 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.1% of Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.13.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $404.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $275.37 and a 1 year high of $430.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $415.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $384.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.